Whoopi Goldberg will return to Broadway this month and she’s doing so in true villainous fashion when she takes on the role of Miss Hannigan in the beloved musical Annie. Goldberg’s performances begin Dec. 11, 2024 and run through Jan. 5 of next year.
Buy now: Tickets to see Whoopi Goldberg in Annie on Broadway
The EGOT winner has admitted that she isn’t exactly looking forward to every part of the performance. She told Playbill, “I don’t sing. This is like the third time I’m singing, but it’s not my thing.”
Goldberg famously sang solos in both Sister Act and its follow-up, and in 1996 she became the first woman to play Pseudolus in the musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. She returned to musicals in the years that followed with a part in the stage production of Xanadu. Goldberg also said she’s looking forward to offering her take on Miss Hannigan. “Her villainy is desperation,” she explained. “That’s why people feel better about Miss Hannigan than they do about most villains. She’s in the middle of the Depression, and who knows what her life was like before that.”
There is one aspect of the character that Goldberg is not leaning into: her vehement disdain for children. “I have too many kids. There’s no way I can’t like them,” she explained, speaking of both her actual children and the many she’s worked with over the years, including her costars, too. “These girls are not only wonderful actors, but they’re a great support for me, too,” she continued. “I told them I was rusty, that it had been a while since I’ve done this. They were like, ‘We got you.’ And they do. They’re helping me. It’s a great family.”
In October Goldberg shared her character’s look on The View. She told the studio audience, “It may not be your grandma’s Annie, but it will be fun.”
Published: Dec 8, 2024 09:28 am